United States v. James Rual Miller

A three-count indictment issued in the Northern District of California against James Rual Miller on June 30, 1982, charging Miller with mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 . Central to each count of the indictment was the allegation that Miller devised a scheme and artifice to defraud Aetna Insurance Company by making a fraudulent insurance claim for a loss arising from an alleged burglary committed with Miller’s knowledge and consent. The issue raised by Miller in this appeal is whether his jury conviction on the first two counts may be sustained where the government failed to prove that he procured, consented to or knew of the burglary, even though it did prove the allegation that Miller inflated the amount of his claimed loss. Because we conclude that the government failed to prove the scheme pleaded in the indictment, we reverse Miller’s conviction.

The parties have stipulated to the following facts. Miller was the owner of San Francisco Scrap Metals, Inc., a company that regularly purchased scrap wire, and stripped, baled and resold it. On July 2, 1981, Miller increased his company’s insurance coverage from $50,000 to $150,000 for a two-week period ending July 15,…